It’s almost grilling season and I need a reliable side dish for parties, family gatherings and barbecues. This broccoli salad is the perfect creamy, crunchy, rich and flavorful side dish to any meal. It has a great balance of sweet and spicy flavors and the texture is unbeatable. It’s a fact that when you add bacon to a vegetable dish, even the most demanding meat eaters will try it. Baby steps, right?! I love making sure my loved ones eat their vegetables!
What is broccoli salad?
Broccoli salad is a classic side dish made with broccoli florets tossed with cheddar cheese, raisins, bacon, walnuts and red onions, and coated in a creamy, tangy dressing. This salad has a wonderful balance of flavors and textures and is so versatile!
Here’s what you need to make broccoli salad:
- Broccoli: Has an earthy and slightly sweet, slightly bitter taste as well as a wonderful crunch!
- Cheddar cheese: Adds a creamy and salty component to the salad.
- Raisins: Add a touch of sweet and fruity flavor.
- Bacon: Adds great savory and umami flavor. You will need 6 strips of cooked bacon. Vegetarian? No problem, just leave it out. Sometimes I put the bacon aside for gatherings where there may be different dietary restrictions.
- Walnuts: Add a nutty flavor and delicious crunch.
- Red onion: Gives the recipe some bite and a wonderfully crunchy texture and provides a great contrast to the sweet and chewy raisins.
- Mayo: Adds richness and creaminess to the dressing.
- Greek yogurt: Makes the dressing extra creamy and flavorful with fewer calories and fat than sour cream. I highly recommend Greek yogurt over plain yogurt or sour cream because it has a thicker, creamy consistency.
- White wine vinegar: Adds a refreshing brightness and tang to the dressing to balance out the richness.
- Sugar: Adds sweetness to balance the vinegar.
- Salt and pepper: Improve the overall taste of the salad.
Should I blanch the broccoli?
When testing, I preferred the final consistency of raw broccoli to blanched, but you can of course blanch the broccoli if you prefer. The blanching process removes some of the broccoli’s natural bitter flavor; Simply drop the florets into a large pot of boiling salted water for 1 minute, then quickly shake them off in a bowl of ice water. Instead, I opted to simply rinse my broccoli florets in hot water to make them extra bright green and ensure they were nice and clean.
To prevent your broccoli salad from becoming watery, make sure to dry the florets thoroughly. The salt in the dressing naturally removes some of the moisture from the vegetables. Therefore, it is important that it is dry after washing! I like to spread them out on a clean kitchen towel and gently pat them dry, placing another towel on top while I prepare the rest of my ingredients.
What to serve with broccoli salad
Broccoli salad is such a fresh and crunchy dish with tons of flavor, so I recommend pairing it with simple proteins like air fryer chicken breasts or glazed pork chops.
Broccoli salad
This broccoli salad is the perfect creamy, crunchy, rich and flavorful side dish to any meal. It’s my new go-to for potlucks!
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Broccoli salad
- 1 large head of broccoli, divided into florets (about 4 cups) ($1.10)
- 1 Cup grated cheddar cheese ($1.24)
- 1/4 Cup Raisins ($0.39)
- 6 stripes bacon ($0.90)
- 1/4 Cup Walnuts, crushed ($0.80)
- 1/4 red onion, cut into small pieces ($0.21)
Broccoli salad dressing
- 1/2 Cup mayonnaise ($0.75)
- 2 tablespoon Greek yogurt ($0.21)
- 1 tablespoon White wine vinegar ($0.04)
- 1 tablespoon Sugar ($0.05)
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt ($0.05)
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper ($0.05)
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Cook the bacon until crispy. Let cool on a plate lined with kitchen paper. Cut into bite-sized pieces and set aside.
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In a small mixing bowl, combine mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, white vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Mix everything well and set the dressing aside.
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Cut broccoli into florets, grate cheddar cheese, collect raisins, crumble bacon, crush walnuts and dice red onions.
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Place the salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix together.
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Pour the dressing over the broccoli salad and toss until completely coated. Serve immediately or let it marinate and keep it delicious in the fridge for up to 5 days!
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Portion: 1portionCalories: 305kcalCarbohydrates: 9GProtein: 9GFat: 26GSodium: 477mgFiber: 1G
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How to make broccoli salad – step by step photos
In a small mixing bowl, combine 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon white vinegar, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Mix everything well and set the dressing aside.
Cut 1 large head of broccoli into florets, grate 1 cup of cheddar cheese, collect 1/4 cup of raisins, crumble 6 strips of crispy bacon, crush 1/4 cup of walnuts, and dice 1/4 of a red onion.
Place the salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix together.
Pour the dressing over the broccoli salad and toss until completely coated. Serve immediately or let it marinate and keep it delicious in the fridge for up to 5 days!